SAN JOSE -- The transition of the Ducks from a once-elite NHL team that had clearly lost its edge into a remade club striving to ascend back toward the league's upper echelon can be illustrated with a simple compare-and-contrast exercise involving key penalty-killers Todd Marchant and Mike Brown.

A veteran of 76 post-season games over nine previous campaigns and one of 12 holdovers from the Ducks' 2007 Stanley Cup championship run, Marchant represents what might be called the team's "old guard." A rookie in his initial NHL playoff go-round, Brown is part of what could be considered a "new wave."

Together, Marchant and Brown led a spirited effort that stymied the explosive San Jose Sharks on all six of their power-play opportunities during Thursday night's 2-0 Ducks victory in the opening game of a first-round Western Conference series.

While the Ducks will seemingly never stop talking about their age-old intent of minimizing trips to the penalty box, it appears almost certain that Marchant, Brown and their penalty-killing mates will continue to play important roles in the series, beginning with Sunday night's second game at HP Pavilion.

"We came into the playoffs saying to ourselves that special teams are going to be a big part," Marchant said after Friday's practice. "Penalty-kill has to be big. Power play has to be big. Through Game 1, we won that battle, but you have to do it night in and night out to be successful."

Even after captain Scott Niedermayer opened the scoring by converting the third of four Ducks man-advantage chances, 5:18 into the third period, the Ducks had to weather two more penalties before center Ryan Getzlaf sealed the deal with a goal at 17:35.

Marchant, 35, and Brown, 23, were instrumental all night, with Marchant seeing a game-high seven minutes, 10 seconds of short-handed duty and Brown eating up 5:48. Each received credit for five hits, matching three Sharks for the most of anyone, and Marchant was dominant in the faceoff circles, taking 24 of the game's 50 draws, and winning 17.

Marchant's contributions didn't stop when he left the ice.

"Every time we come in the locker room or after a shift, he's always saying what's going on, giving a lot of feedback," Brown said. "He's obviously been around for a long time, played a lot of penalty-kill, so he knows what he's talking about. I have my ears open. He's been a big help to me."

A penalty-killing mainstay since joining the Ducks in November 2005, Marchant formerly did most of his grunt work alongside forwards Rob Niedermayer,Samuel Pahlsson and Travis Moen. Pahlsson and Moen, however, are gone, dealt to the Chicago Blackhawks and San Jose, respectively, before the NHL's March 4 trade deadline.

Brown, who looks more and more like a steal in a Feb. 4 trade that sent seldom-used rookie defenseman Nathan McIver to the Vancouver Canucks, and Petteri Nokelainen, acquired in a deadline-day trade with the Boston Bruins, have largely taken over where Pahlsson and Moen used to be.

"Fortunately or unfortunately, we've had to insert new guys," Marchant said. "For the most part, it had been the same core group of guys, up front anyway. Now that you move a couple of those guys, there become new partnerships and new guys in the mix. You have to credit those guys."

A similar process has taken place on the back end, where James Wisniewski, who arrived from Chicago in the Pahlsson trade, has joined primary penalty-killing defensemen Scott Niedermayer, Chris Pronger and Francois Beauchemin.

Like the 5-foot-10, 182-pound Marchant, Brown won't wow anyone with his size, despite being generously listed at 6-0 and 210. Desire, however, is another story.

"He's done a great job for us," Marchant said. "He has a lot of energy and he's willing to sacrifice, block shots and get into lanes. That's what it basically comes down to. It's nothing pretty."

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